ANAHEIM – Hours before the Angels game Friday night, a few coaches were on the field with members of the grounds crew and a tape measure.
One end of the tape was at home plate, and the other in shallow right field. They were trying to get precise measurements to help the infielders have reference for where to play on shifts.
Welcome to the new world.
While many teams have been employing aggressive defensive shifts for the past few years, the Angels have moved somewhat slower in that area. Last season they were slightly below the major league average in shift frequency.